The deadly curve on the National Highway 66 at Vattappara, near Valanchery, claimed three more lives on Tuesday when a container truck overturned and crushed an autorickshaw and its passengers under it.
Autorickshaw driver Mohammed Nisar, 35, passengers Khadeeja, 50, and her daughter-in-law Shahina, 25, remained stuck under the truck for nearly an hour after the accident. By the time the Fire and Rescue Services personnel retrieved the victims from under the truck and took them to a nearby hospital with the help of the local people, they were already dead.
A feeding bottle recovered from the spot triggered panic for sometime as people suspected that a child too was involved in the tragedy. The victims were from Palachode, near Valanchery.
The truck, heading for Thrissur from Kozhikode, was coming down the curve when it lost control and overturned, trapping the autorickshaw completely under it. Local people remained helpless for over half an hour as the heavy truck could not be moved to save the passengers in the autorickshaw. The truck was removed later by using a crane.
The sharp curve between Valanchery and Kottakkal towns had gained notoriety because of accidents occuring so frequently that the road transport authorities were forced to seek an alternative road to bypass that trap. The bypass work from Kanhippuram to Moodal has not made much progress yet.
